This is the kind of D core that has upside. DDK and Ellis could prove a nice 1-2 punch, Green and Smith were solid last year when together and the reduced role for Kronwall could keep him effective with Marchenko there to help out. I like this all in all. Plus Ellis is under contract for an affordable $2.5M per for 3 seasons!

Might be tough to pull off this trade, but Nashville is deep on D and needs more offense. Maybe look at what their lineup would look like with this trade?

Good Idea, I'll make that and see how it would look.

Nashville has only like 4 forwards worth protecting so not really an issue.

Forsberg, Johansen, Neal, Smith, Wilson, Jarnkrok, Arvidsson. That's 7 that they don't want to lose. If they made this deal Nyquist would replace Arvidsson.

If they kept Ellis they could only keep Subban, Josi, Ekholm, Ellis, Forsberg, Johansen, Neal and only ONE of Jarnkrok, Smith and Wilson.

I would have no issue losing Jarnkrok or Wilson (at 4 mil) to keep Ellis (top pairing dmen on great contract).

Let's imagine the purpose of the Subban/Weber trades was so that the Habs and Preds would have the option of exposing those two players in the draft.
If they get picked by the Vegans, Nashville would have 9m in cap to spend and Montreal 7.8m a year for almost a decade. If they weren't claimed, the teams could protect 3 Dmen and still have Subban/Weber.

Deal Ryan Ellis would definitely improve Detroit's defensive core.